Sunday, August 29, 2010

BRRRRRRRRRRMMMM!!! This is the first and biggest part in my "Week of Catching Up"; a movie review that should've been written more than a month ago, and perhaps the biggest film of the entire summer. I actually saw Inception the day after it came out, just to put in perspective as to how long this has been delayed; and because of that my memory on the film may be a little flaky.

Inception was the first film directed by Christopher Nolan since The Dark Knight, so to say the least, expectations were high for this completely original work. And considering this was pretty much the only big movie this summer that wasn't a shoddy adaptation (not that Scott Pilgrim was shoddy; it didn't release when this came out, but it's still an adaptation no less) or so-so sequel, Inception was a pretty pivotal film. Personally, I tried not to hype it up, like The Dark Knight, I refrained from watching any trailers or clips so that I could get a true experience without any notion as to what I would be in for.

Being that this review is nearly two months late, I'm not going to sit here and write out a full synopsis of the story, because at this point you've probably seen it already, and if you haven't; shame on you. Basically, Leonardo DiCaprio and his crack team of dream wizards must enter the dreams inside dreams in order to plant an idea in the mind of the son of a rival corporation of the man who hired them; you know, basics. But seriously, I kind of remember the general story, but as I said, details are flaky.

Cast-wise everyone's pretty good, DiCaprio, Levitt, and Hardy all have their quirks that make them likeable. Ken Watanabe was good as well, but I found that I couldn't understand him most of the time except for a few words here and there, and I generally have no problem understanding thick accents. I really enjoyed Marion Cotillard's performance, as she was a really convincing threat to Cobb's mental stability, and made his character all that much more interesting. Only cast complaint I have is that Michael Caine got last billing, because he honestly didn't even need to be in the film; his character has no significance and only has like... two lines.

The most interesting part of this film was the special effects, as Nolan has be known to shy away from CG in his films. So while there is a significant number of moments in the film that couldn't be done without computer graphics, it's the parts without it that are stunning. The most spectacular one being where Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a fight in a zero-gravity hallway, and then must continue to group up all his unconscious acquaintances while still in zero-g. Of course being two months later, I've since found out how they actually pulled it off, but watching it the first time, without any idea what to expect, it was quite the magical moment.

Lastly, the score, this is by far Hans Zimmer's best score yet, and the addition of The Smith's Johnny Marr on many of the tracks just makes it all the more cooler. Plus, it's got plenty of BRRRRRRMMMMMM to keep your heart and brain going.

Overall Inception was a pretty fantastic film, and I would've seen it a second time had my schedule not been so filled up. Especially in a summer that's been filled with okay sequels, crappy adaptations, or just generally uninteresting or poorly made films, it was great to see something that really stood out above all the rest and wasn't afraid to actually make its audience think. To be honest, having seen most of Nolan's other works, I'd say this is his best and most ambitious work yet, and I even liked it more than The Dark Knight. And being that I gave that film a 10/10...

Overall Score: 10/10

If I have one complaint, it's that these people all had incredibly uninteresting dreams. Seriously, where my laser wielding pandas riding on T-Rex-back on Mars?! This is a dream after all, get creative!

Oh, and no Seal of Approval, because... I don't know, the review's late, and I think I give it out to casually nowadays. 10/10 is still good though, that's all that matters. But if you disagree, tell me, and I'll give it the Seal.